Duncan Selbie’s Friday message – 14 September 2018

This week over 1600 public well being colleagues gathered at Warwick College for the PHE annual convention. This was our greatest and largest convention and I thank all those that attended to your daring discussions, sensible shows and for the various alternatives to study from one another. My thanks additionally to those that organised the convention and labored over many months to make it such a clean and seamless occasion.

It has been a difficult, busy and quick paced yr and as our Minister for Public Well being and Major Care Steve Brine MP put it, public well being professionals have repeatedly sprung into motion to guard and save lives and livelihoods. As all the time the convention, which was our sixth, was a time for reflection on all of the work we’ve accomplished and anticipation of that which we’ll do. A technique of reflecting on the previous six years is to have a look at the previous six days. In that point we’ve launched our refreshed Coronary heart Age Take a look at, confirmed two circumstances of monkey pox within the UK, a primary for the UK, continued our work on the response to the novichok poisonings, revealed our newest Well being Profile for England, launched a brand new alcohol marketing campaign, and introduced the brand new flu vaccine. All of this has been debated within the media, mentioned on tv screens, shared extensively on social media and stuffed the columns of newspapers. Most significantly, it has reached folks and that’s the crux of every part. Because the well being sector works away on the brand new long run plan for the NHS, it’s important that we’re poised with the very best information and clear priorities – in our case to embed prevention on the coronary heart of the plan, so we are able to make the largest distinction.

Our Well being Profile for England offers us that information. The brand new report tells us that individuals are residing longer and are more healthy at all ages group, which is undeniably excellent news. Nevertheless, it additionally tells us, amongst many issues, that the poor are experiencing the well being that the rich loved twenty years in the past, that our ageing inhabitants means the variety of folks with long-term well being situations has elevated, {that a} additional a million folks may have diabetes by 2035, and {that a} bigger proportion of youngsters than adults reside in households that earn beneath the minimal revenue commonplace. We nonetheless have a lot work to do to shut the inequalities, that are removed from inevitable and this information units out the place we should focus our efforts. You’ll find a brand new chapter on youngster well being, a brand new addition of future traits that includes all through all chapters and an prolonged chapter on well being safety. You possibly can learn extra in our blog and discover the complete report by way of the PHE home page. Please do have a look.

Extreme alcohol use is a number one taker of life within the middle-aged, accounting for numerous distress and greater than one million admissions to hospital yearly. Liver most cancers charges are one of many few traits going within the fallacious path. We all know that for younger folks and for the toughest drinkers, essentially the most evidenced intervention could be to set a minimal value, and our 2016 evidence review, revealed by The Lancet, is usually thought to be the gold commonplace for the vary of actions, together with value, which might have to be taken to noticeably deal with alcohol hurt. There are after all parallels right here with tackling weight problems and our work with the meals trade on calorie discount, a partnership with over 200 corporations. At this time there are hundreds of thousands of adults in center age who drink persistently above low threat ranges. Our marketing campaign with Drinkaware is aimed squarely at them. Having ‘drink free days’ is an simply comprehensible, pragmatic and wise message and if acted on is prone to cut back the dangers of hurt to well being. Drinkaware is an schooling charity whose mission is to scale back alcohol hurt. They’ve a formidable attain of 9 million distinctive guests on their web site every year on the lookout for recommendation which is why we wish to work with them. While Drinkaware receives funding from the alcohol trade amongst others, they aren’t the alcohol trade and they’re fierce of their defence of their independence. Public well being must be the place individuals are, residing the lives that they lead within the locations that they stay. We have to meet them there and be related to them. I make no apology for being clear and direct about this. The marketing campaign might be rigorously and independently evaluated and we will act on its findings no matter they could be.

And eventually, subsequent week there might be a well being dialogue between the UK and Chinese language Governments and I might be accompanying Matt Hancock MP Secretary of State for Well being and Social Care to alternate experience on how we’re tackling prevention together with psychological well being and embracing expertise. My subsequent message might be on Friday 28 September.